Warriors
by PanemWarrior
Summary: There was no rebellion, and now the 99th Annual Hunger Games are near. Who will defy the odds and become this year's victor? This is not a love story with a happy ending. This is a story about war.
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Hunger Games or Catching Fire. Suzanne Collins does. She also owns the characters Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Haymitch Abernathy, President Snow, Cecelia, and all the others from The Hunger Games trilogy (some of them will appear later in the story, but I won't spoil which ones... it would ruin all the fun and games!)**

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**Prologue**

Katniss Everdeen was the sole victor of the 74th Hunger Games, after Peeta Mellark killed himself with nightlock berries so she could survive. For the 75th Hunger Games, President Coriolanus Snow has specific orders that she and her mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, could not leave the arena alive. Cecelia, from District 8, was the victor. Twenty five years after Girl on Fire, the 99th Hunger Games are near. President Snow is in his late 90s, maybe early 100s, and still rules the nation with an iron fist. Again, 24 children will become warriors and fight to the death on national TV. The odds are definitely not in their favor. Only one of them will survive. Who will defy the odds and become this year's victor? This is not a love story with a happy ending. This is a story about war.

**The Tributes**

District 1

M- Lux Emerhauldt (17)  
F- Serena Platinum (18)

District 2

M- Duke Maximus (15)  
F- Raina Whitmarsh (16)

District 3

M- Zuse Cupertino (13)  
F- Iva Bumach (14)

District 4

M- Indigo Swan (14)  
F- Sirenia "Siri" Blu (15)

District 5

M- Henry Forde (16)  
F- Celia Lockhart (18)

District 6

M- Ethan Van (18)  
F- Sher Rileigh (13)

District 7

M- Mason Campbell (17)  
F- Diana Underwood (16)

District 8

M- Yves D'Ambrosio (13)  
F- Donatelle Dixon (15)

District 9

M- Echo Kring (17)  
F- Arabelle Simmonds (12)

District 10

M- Ross Donald (15)  
F- Wendi Fox (14)

District 11

M- Rufus Edens (18)  
F- Onyx Black (16)

District 12

M- Song Hawthorne (12)  
F- Embeth Gracilis (14)

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**A/N: Hey guys, I'm Daniel, and this is my first attempt at writing a story. It is a result of hours of conspiracy theories and "what if"s from my twisted mind. I will try to post one chapter a week, and I promise there will be a lot of interesting twists. This is definitely not just about the Games. Also, I already apologize for any grammar mistakes I make: English is not my native language, but I will try my best and double-check everything so it's still readable. **** I will probably make the first reaping longer than the others (except for one or two districts) because there will be three POVs instead of two, and I want a big opening for the story. The other chapters will mostly be two districts instead of one.**

**ATTENTION: As you read the Prologue, I am probably working on the first chapter. It is called "Glory or Die" and is about District One reapings. A little sneak peek: The tributes from D1 are polar opposites. There is not one single thing in common between Lux and Serena, except for their will to win, and they will have a special character to guide them in this journey. Also, don't forget to review, because YOUR FEEDBACK will determine which tributes will be killed in the bloodbath, and probably which one will be the victor! (I also have a very special twist planned for the countdown and the bloodbath)**

**Thanks for reading, and again, don't forget to review.**

**May the odds be ever in YOUR favor,**

** -Daniel**


	2. Glory or Die

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Hunger Games trilogy or any of its original characters, including Effie Trinket, Katniss Everdeen and Haymitch Abernathy. I am not Suzanne Collins, so please don't judge the quality of my work based on the quality of her writing. Mine is obviously a lot lower. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy._

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**Chapter One**

**Glory or Die**

**(District One Reaping)**

_Serena Platinum POV_

I woke up with a good feeling. This is my day and nothing will take it away from me. The early morning sunshine made my blonde hair even brighter and my skin was glowing. I quickly took a shower and started getting ready. This is the day. I will volunteer for the 99th Hunger Games. I stared at my reflection in the mirror and practiced my confident smile for about a whole hour. Not that I need it, I know all I have to do by heart. I just want to make sure that everything is on point for my big day. Been waiting and practicing for six years now. I put on a little make up, comb my hair perfectly... Don't cry, Serena. Don't screw it up. You have to do this. Don't be scared. You are six years ahead of everyone. You are the daughter of Magnus Platinum. All your family wants is a winner, nothing else. That's all we need to rule District 1. As I hide all my emotions, I finally zip my dress, put on a diamond necklace and open the door of my bedroom. With a confident smile on my face.

_Lux Emerhauldt POV_

Whatever. That's exactly what I'm going to say on stage after I volunteer. The truth is I can't wait to win those damn games, come back home and finally have the life I deserve to have. But I have to play the cool kid who kills just for fun. Let's just say I'm at the poor part of the rich district. All thanks to my precious father, who had a gambling problem and wrecked all of the family money. Now, because of his mistake, I have to live surrounded by platinum miners. That is not what I signed up for. I signed up for glory. And I'm gonna make sure nobody stands in my way. How? I'm gonna be the most vicious assassin everyone has seen in years. And it's all gonna be fun, because I have nothing to lose. That's what I remember before I leave my room: glory or die! And in that thought, after realizing he already left (if for work or to get drunk, I couldn't care less), I leave the small lonely house I live in to never come back. If I win, I go to my new luxury home. If I lose... well I'm not going to need a home above the ground.

_Serena Platinum POV_

-Hello, Superstar! -my parents almost yell at me as I walk down the stairs in my white flowy dress. I sure look like a superstar.  
-What up, b...-oops, did I just almost talk to my parents as if they were my friends? I really have to watch my mouth today! Especially today!- hey, you guys!-They hug me a lot stronger than I hold them back.  
-This is your big day, and no one else's. Our little superstar is all grown up and ready for the glory. What the hell is wrong with your hair?-my mother talks to me in a fast pace and takes the brush, combing my hair again, as if straight and shining was such a mess.  
-Ok, let's go to breakfast! You're going to need all the energy you need.- says my father, abruptly interrupet by my mother. -But don't eat too much! I worked too hard to send a fat girl into the Capitol - SHE worked too hard? All she did was restrict my meals and teach me the real meaning of hunger, until I lost all the thirty pounds I had to. I did all the rest. That's another reason I want to go to those Games. I will get away from my mother for at least a whole week. The deal with my parents is: as a rich District One family, they're obsessed with perfection, and the idea of out-perfecting all the others. Having the best luxury items, the best reputation, the best parties... And, of course, the best daughter. And what's a better way of proving their daughter is the best in Panem than training her every day for six years and sending her out to an arena to kill 23 other teenagers? Ok, I need to get going. The more I think about my parents, the more nervous I get. I eat my restricted breakfast without saying a word, and leave my house. I don't even want to look back.

_Lux Emerhauldt POV_

Arrive to the Reaping: Check. Registration: Check. All I have to do now is stand with the other 17 year-old guys. In my way, I have to get through all the younger guys. I see this tiny 12-year old bursting into tears having to leave his mother. This is his first Reaping, and all he knows about this moment is: if your name is called, consider yourself a walking corpse. I know exactly how he feels. My mother passed away days before my first reaping, and I was just as terrified as him, because all I had left was a drunk father who didn't give a crap about me. So I stepped outside the cool bored kid image for a moment, threw him a comforting smile and touched the tiny boy's shoulder. The next few words I said would stay in my mind for hours, maybe days. "Don't worry, you're safe. In moments I will volunteer. And I will win. For both of us". Now here I am, thinking that once I was that tiny boy, and in a few days I will have to kill tiny boys like that in order to survive and get all the glory I want. Is it worth it? Shake that off, Lux! Be the one who says "whatever"! As Effie Trinket enters the stage to begin with the Reaping, I try to shake it off, already knowing that I can't. I am that tiny boy.

_Serena Platinum __POV_

-What up, bitches?- I say my usual compliment to my best friends Kara and Kristin, as we're standing with all the other 18 year-olds and looking fierce. -Hey girl! - they both say in unison.  
Kara takes my hand and says, gently.  
- Do you really have to do this?  
- You know I do. And plus, I couldn't risk losing one of you to a coal miner from Twelve in the arena.  
We laugh for a brief moment, and I realize I'm about to be miles away from the two people I loved the most. They know everything about me, and I know everything about them. I'm about to miss Kara and Kristin. I already lost them. Kristin whispers in my ear, as Effie Trinket walks in:  
-You're gonna look fabulous, promise me!  
They're unbelievable. There's a serious possibility I die, and they make jokes to calm me down.  
-You know I can't rest in just being pretty! - I reply her with a smile.  
- No silly, I'm talking of your homecoming dress!  
And then it hit me. I will never lose them. They believe in me for who I am, and not for the parents I have. The only thing I have left to say when I hold them back is:  
- I promise.

_Effie Trinket POV_

I have been doing the same thing for about thirty years now. Some years, I get one of my two kids to come back. Some years, I don't. I started as an escort for District Twelve tributes. It was the poorest district, but it was a carreer starter. It was my chance to shine. Then, she happened. The girl who stabbed a mahogany table. Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire. She made me realize it was never about me. It wasn't even about the tributes. It's about Snow and his obsession with power, control, perfection, glory and blood. He is the real enemy. Talking about enemies, I used to have one. His name was Haymitch. He won the Games fourty nine years ago, but I had to watch him die twenty five years later, in the same occasion that killed Katniss. They were both swallowed by a fire in a section of the clock arena. It was the most painful thing ever to watch. He never hated me, he hated the Games. I did not hate him either, but we couldn't just run away together. The Capitol would find and execute me. After my performance with two victors and a finalist, they promoted me to richer districts, until I ended up in One. So, for the past twenty four years, I have been doing what I always do. Hide my frustration behind my make up, my bright-colored wig and a fake smile. One more year alone. One more year without being constantly mocked by the man I could've been happy with. So, again, I hide my heartbreaks and my blonde hair under this artificial purple wig, and walk in for another big, big, big day.  
- Welcome, welcome! - wow, every year my voice gets even more annoying on the microphone - To the 99th Annual Hunger Games!  
I see a crowd with mixed feelings. They pretty much know that in this district there will be two volunteers, but some of them can't help but give me a scared look, as if I was an alien who wants to behead all of them. I let the video play, and realize that people getting killed in a big screen isn't going to make me less scary. Then I give the same speech about a corageous young man and woman.  
- And now it is time to know this year's District One tributes. Ladies first... I pick the paper carefully, as if my own name was in it, wanting it to be a blank paper. Wanting to leave the place. I read the name out loud. -Serena Platinum!- This is odd. No volunteers?!  
Then she hugs two other girls and hurries up to the stage, in a surprised, but confident facial expression. She smiles at me and for a moment, I can't help but smile back at her. She is a charming blonde young lady, with emerald eyes and a fair skin. In the Capitol, she could be a couture model because of her tall and thin body wrapped up in a white flowy dress and her diamond necklace. Her beauty distracts me for a moment, and I start asking her questions and discover that she was going to volunteer anyways, before I move on to the young gentlemen, again, wanting the paper to have no name written.  
-Now, to the gentlemen... Joh...- a brown-haired muscular boy from the 17 year-olds interrupts me, shouting: I VOLUNTEER! And walks to the stage. He is the complete opposite of the blonde lady: not charming at all, and poorly dressed. When I ask his name, he tells me - Lux Emerhauldt- His lack of charm and his voice remind me of Haymitch. I stumble in my words for a moment, and ask him  
- Wh.. What made you take this decision? Was it the glory, the luxury? - He replies me back. - Whatever, babe. I was bored. - The blonde girl gives him quite a look of disdain, and I swear if looks could kill, I would need a second tribute boy. I smooth the tension away with smiles and give another awkward speech before the usual ending:  
- Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor! -even though I know the odds are anything but in their favor. As we leave, I wait until we get inside the backstage area and hold them the tightest I can.

_Serena Platinum POV_

- And you're off to a bad start!- I can't understand why my father is so angry at me. I thought I did everything right. The confident smile, the strong but relatable answers... I turned my charm on, and even Effie saw it. The sponsors will love me.  
-What now, dad? What more do you want for me?  
-Use your head, Serena! You are a volunteer! You are a Career tribute! You should've shouted that from the top of your lungs!  
-But Effie...  
-No buts, ands or ifs. Death doesn't accept your excuses or apologies!  
That is enough for me.  
-Death? Can you even believe what you're saying? This may be the last time you are going to see your only child, and this is how you want to spend your last minutes with her? - He has no answer, he doesn't say a word. His face looks stiff, but I keep going.  
-It was never about me, am I right? It was always about being the best family. I never had a choice, right dad? Well guess what! Now I don't! Leave! Now!  
Even I am surprised with the tone my voice has. I didn't even know I could scream that loud. Everyone outside my room in the Justice Building is listening to my screams, but I could not care less. I've been through six years of the Hunger Games crap: the training, the diet, the exercises, the interview practices, even my walk was changed because I was not the perfect daughter. Now this is my time to get back at him.  
- By the way, tell mom to shove it up if she's going to give me the same speech. - I tell him, in tears, while he's headed for the door. I have no reply. Next, my mother comes in.  
Surprisingly, she's all compliments. She told me I was graceful, and that I'm the young woman any girl could ever dream to be. She dried my tears and told me to be strong. Honestly, I can't blame her for being who she is. She always had either my father or her father as authorities in her life, and if they say they need a victor, then a victor is needed. I say goodbye to her, and she says: "You may not believe me, but I am your mother, and I believe in you, Serena!"  
As we hug, the Peacekeepers come in warning her that her time with me is up.  
Next, comes Kara, and then Kristin, and with both I spend five minutes holding hands and thinking of the future, without saying a word.  
And that's it. My life in District One as a normal person is officially over. The Peacekeepers conduct me to the car in which Effie Trinket and the tribute boy are in, ready to take us to the train station. May the odds be ever in my favor.

_Lux Emerhauldt POV_

After Effie hugged me and the blonde girl, she asked me where were my loved ones. All I could reply was that I have nobody. I have nothing. No friends, no family. I'm riding solo and have nothing to lose. That's why I volunteered. I didn't think I would get the feedback from her that I got.  
-We are in the same place, then. We both have nobody. We are, indeed, alone.  
I can see her eyes tearing a little, and light up the spark by telling her my story and how important it is for me to win those games. Then, I apologize for being rude to her at the reaping and explain that this is the image I want to portray for the audience. She accepts my apology and holds my hands.  
-You remind me of a victor.  
-Thanks, I hope I get to be one.  
-No, a specific victor. Haymitch Abernathy. Do you know him?  
-I think I remember some... Wasn't he in that all-stars game or something?  
Effie takes a deep breath, as if she's trying to forget that part of him.  
-Yes, he was. But before this, he had nothing. He was from District 12, the poorest of Panem. He was lonely and not charming at all.  
-Ouch, that hurts!  
I can almost take a little laugh out of that frustrated lady.  
-Sorry about that, Lux. But it is the truth. And by the way, if that is the role you want to play, you are making an outstanding job.  
-Thank you, but tell me more about that Haymitch guy.  
And we spend the last fifteen minutes in my district talking about how drunk he was all the time, or his ironic comments, or how he would always tease Effie, and she kept advising not to start drinking once in every five seconds... It distracted me a little, but that was not the point. The point is Effie was in love with him, and that for sure.  
-Let me tell you something, Lux. You are just like him. You deserve to live. I am rooting for you.  
-Thank you - I tell her.  
-You are very, very welcome.  
I pause a little and say it. -Also for the visit. It means a lot that you are the one I get to say goodbye to.  
Again, she gets very emotional and holds me. I know her buttons, and all I have to do is to push them. I'm getting exactly what I need from her.

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_A/R: Hi guys! As I promised, this is the chapter of this week. So... I think we got a nice start. Two tributes that are polar opposites of each other, but both of them have trained a lot and are already strategizing. And we also got a broken Effie Trinket. Who knew she would be so damaged after all these years? Don't think Lux is not going to push all her buttons if he needs to take advantage in the Games.  
And now, a little sneak peek of Chapter Two. I am already writing it and will probably post it on Sunday and it's called "One of Us, None of Them". It takes place in Districts Two and Three reapings. Raina, from District 2, is known as the weird and annoying girl, but has a very peculiar strategy to win the Games and is very smart. Duke, also from 2, is one of the biggest and strongest tributes this year despite only being 15 years-old, and is full of himself. Iva and Zuse, from District 3, are friends since they were toddlers. They both are phisically weak but mentally advanced. Get ready for some drama as "Warriors" return with a new chapter and four new tributes._

_Don't forget to** reply**, and again,** YOUR FEEDBACK** on my tributes **will** help me to **determine** which ones will be killed in the **bloodbath** and probably which one will be the **victor**._

_May the odds be ever in YOUR favor._


End file.
